Followed
by FanGirl3979
Summary: After the events of 'Overheard', a new threat approached Camelot. Merlin, of cpurse, refuses to let this happen, and sets out to defeat the threat before it reaches Arthur. What happens when Arthur follows him, and his magic is revealed?
1. A new threat

_A/N: Hi there! This story is actually a sequel of a story called "Overheard" by the user_ _Hujwernoo_ _. Their story can be found in my favorites list on my profile. I highly recommend reading it before this, but you don't neccessarily have to._

 _This story will be updated on Fridays, though I may have to put it on hiatus when school starts again._

 _The characters may be a bit OOC, but anyway, enjoy chapter 1!_

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All was normal in the palace. Arthur and Merlin were back to their usual routine of banter, the occasional "idiot" or "dollophead" thrown back and forth, and the knights were training in the courtyard.

And, of course, a new threat to the throne had arisen. After all, what's Camelot without a threat to King Arthur?

Merlin was already set on eradicating this threat before it could even enter Camelot. He knew that since his friends (because they were his friends, even if the royal prat wouldn't acknowledge it out loud) knew about all he'd done (sans magic) they'd be watching him obsessively if the assassin reached Camelot. So Merlin decided he simply couldn't allow that to happen. A simple run of the mill assassin was no match for his powers, which he could use if the knights and Arthur weren't around. He _was_ magic incarnate, after all.

So later that night, after being sure the royal prat was done with him and the knights were busy (Gwaine had invited them to the tavern, of course), Merlin set out for the woods west of the citadel, where guards had last seen the culprit.

What Merlin didn't know was that Arthur couldn't sleep and saw him as he left. "Idiot," Arthur muttered under his breath, and immediately dragged the round table knights from the tavern and went after him.

"What do you mean, Merlin's gone after him?" Gwaine so eloquently asked.

"What do you think?" replied Arthur harshly, growing frustrated that his knights couldn't put two and two together. They'd only been at the tavern for a half hour, for goodness sake! " _Mer_ lin went after the assassin the guards spotted in the woods today because he thinks it's his mission alone to protect me. The idiot!"

Meanwhile, Merlin was none the wiser to his friends following close behind him. He stepped into a clearing confidantly and saw the assassin. "Hello!" he said cheerfully, careful not to let on his intentions.

The assassin turned quickly, knife raised, and said, "What do you want?"

"Oh, nothing. I was passing by and saw your fire, is all. I'm Merlin, by the way!" Merlin needed to find out all he could about why this man was after Arthur. For all he knew, Morgana could be behind this.

"Name's Meldrick. What're you doing in the woods, Merlin?"

"Well, I could ask you the same, but I suppose you're on the way to Camelot. I live there, but I've never seen you before. What brings you to this great city?" Merlin asked, hoping to get Meldrick to let his guard down.

His hope was well placed as Meldrick responded, "A job. A lady of the land sent me here on an errand, the details of which I cannot tell."

Merlin knew just how to get the information he needed. "A lady? Speaking of, I remember when the Lady Morgana still lived in Camelot. Perhaps your lady knew her. Well, now anyone who still knows her is an enemy of Camelot. How times change, yes?

"Yes," Meldrick responded slowly, "I suppose I am an enemy of yours, boy. Its Morgana I work for, to kill your king! But first I'll kill you so you don't go tell the guards!" Meldrick yelled, suddenly threw his knife right towards Merlin's heart.

Now, what you must understand is Meldrick is a practiced killer. He didn't let his guard down, but instead never expected a scrawny subject of King _Arthur_ of all people to be a powerful sorcerer! So, really, he couldn't be blamed for being shocked as Merlin's eyes flashed gold and his knife disintegrated half-way to his target.

Merlin smirked at Meldrick's reaction, saying, "We need to talk. You're not getting anywhere near Arthur."

Meanwhile, Arthur and the knights had approached the clearing when they saw a knife disappear...


	2. He has magic?

_A/N: Hey guys! __I'm SO SORRY this took so long to update. Once band camp started, I got crazy busy, and then school started and all bets were off when it came to finding time for writing. But it's finally here! Chapter 2! I can make no promises on when chapter 3 will be out, but hopefully it will be at some point in October. I also want to thank everyone who left reviews! Your feedback means a lot to me! Anyway, enjoy!_

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Arthur rode his horse to a point where he saw a fire in the distance. He and the knights could see footprints that belonged to Merlin leading that way.

"Leave the horses here," he ordered his knights, as he tied his to a tree. "We don't want to alert the assassin to our presence."

Arthur cautiously approached the clearing motioning for his knights to stay hidden. He knew it would be a bad idea to reveal himself since this assassin was after him. Just as he was crouching down to see what it was Merlin thought he could do to an _assassin_ , he saw said assassin throw a knife at Meelin. He nearly let out a gasp as he remembered nearly losing Merlin just a week ago, and now he was certain there was no way out for his friend. Instead, however, the knife simply disintegrated in midair.

Athur was confused. That knife had been headed straight for the younger boy, and yet he stood there, alive, and the knife was gone. Not even a spec of dust remains. The explanation that jumped onto Arthur's mind was _sorcery, he's a sorcerer_ , but he dismissed it. He already had to deal with a traitorous uncle. Arthur really didn't think he could handle it if Merlin betrayed him as well, especially given how he had defended him against Agravaine the week prior. No, Merlin couldn't be a sorcerer.

Shaking his head to clear it, Arthur heard Merlin say in a deadly tone he'd never heard from the boy before, "We need to talk. You're not getting anywhere near Arthur."

Arthur nearly scoffed at that, but then rememered what he'd just seen. Maybe Merlin had some sort of guardian sorcerer that he didn't neccessarily work with so as not to betray Camelot, yet still kept him safe, hence the confidence. Yes, the elaborate explanation certainly made sense, but it just seemed too complicated. He was missing something, he was sure.

The assassin looked just as confused as Arthur felt, yet also somehow scared. Then again, any warrior would be if their weapon of choice disintegrated in front of them. The assassin said, "How-how did you _do_ that? I mean- I _know_ how, but shouldn't you _want_ Arthur dead? I mean, I don't even know why a man of your talents resides in Camelot, but this is good! With your sorcerery, this job can be done even easier than I was planning!"

At that Arthur was beginning to realize Merlin _was_ the sorcerer. He was hurt and could feel a sting of betrayal starting. What he did not expect was for a sorcerer to defend him, as Merlin responded, saying, "NO! You don't get it! Arthur needs to be protected. I may have magic, but the thing is I'm not _just_ a sorcerer. I am Emrys, and Arthur is the Once and Future King who will bring peace to the land and unite the kingdoms! Our destinies are entertwined, like two sides to a coin, where one is nothing without the other. It is my destiny to serve and protect Arthur and I couldn't be more happy in that position. You, on the other hand, are an enemy of Camelot and Arthur and I will _not_ let you reach him, hurt him, or least of all kill him!"

By this point Merlin had moved forward threateningly. He shouted a quick spell, and vines wrapped around the assassin. Another spell and a flash of gold appeared to put him in some sort of trance as Merlin gave him instructions. "You will return to the Lady Morgana and tell her that Arthur is protected. Tell her you, nor any assassin of the land, will ever get near him again, and then you will never show your face in Camelot again." Another spell and the vines went slack as the man snaped out of the trance. He looked scared.

"Why can't I control what I'm doing?" he asked, frightened.

"A simple spell, Meldrick. If i were you, I'd follow that urge to leave before you got hurt. I dont want to hurt you but I will if you don't leave!" Merlin cast a spell, his final one, causing the assassin's - no, Arthur knew him as Meldrick now - Meldrick's things to be packed in under a secomd. This last spell was different though, in Arthur's eyes. For the others, Merlin's back was turned and it was still plausable for him not to be the sorcerer. But during this spell, Arthur got a good look at Merlin's eyes as they flashed gold and he was torn. One part of him admired Merlin for using his power to proetect him and contimuing to serve him despite it. But a bigger portion than he would like to admit felt betrayed by his friend as his mind kept chanting _"Betrayal! Sorcerer! Execute him! He can't be trusted! It's an act!"_

 _"But an act for whom?_ " the other part of him countered, because it just didn't make sense. Merlin couldn't lie to save his life. Sure, maybe he can keep a secret better than Arthur gave him credit for, but Merlin has never once said to his face that he did not have magic. It was assumed. No, Merlin was still a terrible liar... Right?

As the battle rages inside Arthur, he barely registered as Meldrick grabbed his things and began running from the clearing to wherever he had come from. Marlin was now headed for the clearing edge, too, right where he was crouched down. Luckily, Leon grabbed him, pulling him out of his mind as they ran for the horses. They managed to make it back to Camelot without Merlin knowing he'd been followed.

Later, Arthur watched from his window as Merlin walked into the square as if nothing had happened. He had a light smile on his face, but still looked extremely sleepy. Arthur decided to deal with the revalation of his friend's magic tomorrow, but one thing was for sure. They and the knights were going to have a _very long talk_ about keeping important secrets like this from each other.


	3. The round table

_**A/N:** Hey guys! I apologize for it taking a year and a half to update this story. I've been going through some stuff in my personal life and my writing got put on hold altogether. This story is one of my favorites though, so I'm ready to come back to it and finish it out! I can't promise how often updates will be, but I can promise you won't have to wait over a year ever again! Thank you for your support! Now onto the chapter!_

~M~E~R~L~I~N~

Merlin was exhausted by the time he got back to the citadel. While the charm he used on the potential attacker hadn't been very powerful, (well, at least it wasn't by his standards, being Emrys and all) he hadn't had very much sleep the night before, and the trek into the woods hadn't been a short one. So naturally, he didn't notice the blonde king glaring down at him as he cheerfully greeted the guards and made a beeline for Gaius' chambers.

In his dreams that night, Merlin's magic showed him a scene of Meldrick telling Morgana he had been stopped by Emrys before he could reach the citadel. At his name, Morgana threw Meldrick against a wall, killing him instantly. " _EMRYS!_ " she cried in anger, "WHO _ARE_ YOU?!?"

Merlin awoke feeling more exhausted then before he fell asleep. Projection always wore his magic down, and to make matters worse, he woke the sound of Arthur's voice coming from outside his door.

"What do you mean, he can't?"

"Sire-" Gaius was cut off as Arthur's voice grew in volume.

"Tell _Mer_ lin that if I don't see him at the round table in fifteen- no, TEN minutes, he'll be on his way back to Ealdor faster then Gwaine can get drunk!"

Merlin heard the door slam as the king left the room and slowly poked his head put of his meager room. "Is it safe?" he whispered.

Gaius sighed and beckoned for his ward to come downstairs. "I'm assuming you heard Arthur's warning?" Gaius asked the raven-haired boy. A nod was all he recieved in response as Merlin downed his breakfast quickly and ran out the door, wondering just what the blonde clotpole needed this time.

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Leon sat at the round table deep in thought. Around him, his fellow knights, who he saw as brothers, looked much the same. Elyon looked most shaken by what they had seen last night, and Gwaine was notably missing - likely in the tavern trying to drink the revelation away. Arthur's manservant and closest friend, the one person he trusted more than Leon himself, had magic. And from what they had seen and heard, quite powerful magic at that.

Leon was completely torn. On the one hand, as a knight of Camelot, sorcery was his sworn enemy, and he had taken a vow to do anything in his power to eradicate it from the kingdom. But on the other hand, Leon had grown to see Merlin as a brother. The clumsy fool had a way of brightening the whole citadel, and since the day he arrived 8 years ago, he had touched everyone from the lower townsfolk to castle maidens to the king himself, making their lives irreversibly better. Leon was having a hard time reconciling that image of Merlin with the horrible stories of sorcery he'd grown up hearing.

Regardless of his inner turmoil, when Arthur walked in, sans Merlin, with a stony look on his face, Leon felt his heart tighten. Surely Arthur wouldn't... no, he would never. Right? Leon knew in that instant that his mind had been made up. Even if Merlin _was_ a powerful sorcerer, he could not die. He would not let it happen. Everything in him knew that sorcery was evil, but a still deeper part of him knew that Merlin was innocent and had to be protected, sorcery and all.

So a few minutes later, when Merlin ran into the room out of breath, seeming none the wiser to the fact that the knights and king now knew his deepest-held secret, Leon allowed himself to send the young man a small, yet sad, smile, all the while hoping (yet doubting) Arthur would mercy in his heart.


End file.
